The Ikot Oku Ikono Uyo – Ukpum Abak road before (left) and after the first phase of intervention by AKROIMA (right).
Abasifreke Effiong – Uyo
Respite has come for motorists and residents of Ikot Oku Ikono – Ukpum Abak road as Akwa Ibom State Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency, AKROIMA, completes first phase of intervention on the road.
The road which was a major bypass for vehicles leaving Uyo, Akwa Ibom state capital, to Abak, Ikot Abasi, Mkpat Enin, Etim Ekpo local government areas and Port Harcourt in Rivers state was un – motorable two weeks ago.
AKROIMA had promised to complete the first phase of intervention on the road and open it again to vehicles in three weeks, but it completed it in two weeks.
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About 2.2 kilometers assembled portions on the road had failed and become impassable following the diversion of traffic to the road from Abak road – Ikot Oku Ikono junction which has been closed since October 2019 for the construction of a flyover.
Businesses had closed on two portions of the road around Ikot Mbon Ikono and Ikot Iyire communities and residents had moved out of their houses before a fortnight ago when AKROIMA started the intervention.
An indigene of Ikot Mbon Ikono, Mr Christopher Udom had told The Dune, two weeks ago that people residing along the road were using bush tracks through rural roads to get to Idoro road. Vehicle movement and businesses have again commenced on the road linking two local government areas, Abak and Uyo.
Briefing journalists on the level of intervention done on the road, Chairman of AKROIMA, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh said the best engineering technology has been deployed to the road.
Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, Chairman AKROIMA, briefing journalists.
He said the agency had to construct ring culvert to control flood overflow in a section of the road around Ikot Oku Ikono. The overflow, besides heavy traffic, the chairman noted was a major cause of the collapse of the road.
The agency has constructed new drains and reconstructed damaged drains on the road to control overflow, and has also desilted gutters to allow free-flow of water.
Ntuk Udeh said AKROIMA will not compromise quality in her interventions.
“We are using the best mix of materials. As you can see, we are using sharp sand not laterite because we are in rainy season. We have done excavation, filling and compaction to standard engineering recommendations, even the stone base is to the best mix. We are not contractors, we are working under the strict supervision of His Excellency the governor, so we cannot compromise quality.”
Though the road has been opened to traffic, Ntuk Udeh said heavy duty trucks are still barred from taking the road.
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“The road is still closed to heavy duty trucks for now because we want the stonebase to settle properly so that we can watch the depressions and work on them before we apply asphalt.”
Ntuk Udeh lauded residents of communities along the five kilometers road for their cooperation with the agency during the first phase of the intervention.
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Meanwhile, AKROIMA has also intervened on portions of Nwaniba road down to Ibom hotels and golf resort in Uruan local government area which experienced depression.
AKROIMA chairman said the agency had to work from midnight on failed portions on the Nwaniba road to avoid disruption of traffic on the very busy road in daytime.
Ntuk Udeh said the agency experimented concrete filling of potholes on the Nwaniba road, a technology he said would be more durable than asphalt.
